Jets apologize for pulling plug on Revis interview

Posted by Mike Florio on October 21, 2011, 4:50 PM EST

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Earlier today, Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis was being interviewed by Mike Francesa of WFAN. Francesa was pushing Revis on the question of whether he committed pass interference on the pass he intercepted and returned 100 yards for a touchdown against the Dolphins on Monday night.

Jets director of public relations Jared Winley has issued the following statement on the matter, a copy of which was forwarded to PFT: “In my judgment, given the tone of the interview, I should have asked Mike to move on to another topic, instead of instructing Darrelle to hang up the phone. That was an error on my part. I’ve called Mike’s producer and I apologized.”

We respect the Jets for taking this position, even though plenty of people have opined via Twitter and elsewhere that the move was justified.

Don’t apologize, Mike never played the game and, therefore, has zero right to talk to the great Darrelle Revis like that. With that being said, Francesa is a joke who makes headlines for all the wrong reasons.

you can tell Francesa was just joking around with Revis, which it was a clear penalty if anyone watched the video that wasn’t called but to hang up the phone during an interview is pretty childish by Revis and the Jets

What ever, I think Revis can handle things on his own thou I do think Francesa needs to get of his high horse and remember that his job is to share info w/his lesteners and not lecture his guest and the people who listen.

Marshall was stumbling, Revis held him up, once the ball was in the air Revis moved Marshall out of the way and made the interception. That’s pass interference any day of the week, if the NFL referees were as consistent as they’re paid to be and expected to be then we don’t have this problem.

Sounded like he was joking around but after listening to Francesa for 15 years, I can tell you he is as arrogant as they come. Maybe thats what gets him listeners, but it turns me off. BTW if that was a Giants player, no way he hammers him like that

Great post! That didn’t look like defensive pass interference to me. Looked like Marshall was about to fall down into Revis.

On a side note, this idea that you have to have played the game to comment on it is ridiculous. Athletes in general need to be knocked down a peg or two. These guys think they are some great gift to the world because they can play man coverage, or catch a ball. If it wasn’t for the fact that they are lucky that they have a specific genetic skill set that ownership is willing to pay for, most of them would spend their days saying “Do you want fries with that?”

I wonder how many plays the great Revis has made without committing P.I. I loved him coming out of college but his play is nothing more than Ty Law’s was–getting away with penalties and accepting the praises.

Jets director of public relations Jared Winley has issued the following statement on the matter, a copy of which was forwarded to PFT: “In my judgment, given the tone of the interview, I should have asked Mike to move on to another topic, instead of instructing Darrelle to hang up the phone. That was an error on my part. I’ve called Mike’s producer and I apologized.”

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Well that’s Jared Winley’s job to get along with everyone and to promote a harmonious relationship. The decision to not continue talking to a non professional Mike Francesa was correct. The interview was disingenuous and it serves no purpose to make up a penalty possibility when there clearly was none!

he did tug shirt problem is? pass was thrown 5 yds behind marshall and he was falling foward before he got yanked sideways. woulda shoula coulda i dont like revis but francesa took it beyond funny if he was joking he was trying to get a reaction …. and he did

I had been listening to WFAN for a while leading up to this interview, and Francesa said nothing but nice things about Revis. Almost as if he knew some bad things may be about to happen.

Either way, this blow up didn’t happen because of a disagreement over whether something should have or shouldn’t have been a penalty. The reason the Jets hung up was because of the ridiculous notion Francesa wasn’t in a position to comment on the penalty because he hadn’t “stepped on the field”. If you are a Jets fan, you probably side with Revis (really more the Jets PR guy) here. If you have some objectivity, the Jets come off looking pretty bush league. Not really news there.

This will probably be deleted, but I think sport figures should stay away from the media. Most ost sport shows and online sport sites are nothing more than just gossip , articles loosely based on the truth or just to air their personal vendettas

I dont think there was call to hang up the phone. Yeah Francesa is annoying. But he was not disrespectful to Revis. People need to get off this “if you havent played the game dont talk” nonsense. The refs havent played the game either. It doesnt mean they cant spot a penalty when they see one. We are watching it on HD Revis trust me we can see. It was a penalty. That doesnt mean Revis isnt a great corner. Clearly he is. I can see him getting annoyed about the questions but that doesnt mean the PR guy should hang the phone up

I love reading every article about the Jets because no matter what it’s about, people try to rip on the Jets. It’s funny because they made it to the AFC Championship game two years in a row. Granted they didn’t win it, but name another team who’s done better in that stretch than the Packers or Saints-because you’re not gonna find one. They’re .500 this year playing absolute garbage football and they’re still in it. That means that probably for about half of you, your team is .500 or worse. And Revis is a clown and the Jets are pathetic in every way? That’s a joke. Revis is the best complete corner on the planet and will be known as the best when his time is up. I love how everyone on here calls the Jets pathetic; you just wish your team was as fun to watch and you had a coach who has some flavor. If the Jets won the superbowl you all would still find something to rip them on. It’s so funny. Everyone on here making erroneous comments about the Jets are so comical.

I don’t see how the play can be PI on Revis. Marshall initiated contact falling into Revis. Revis just out his arms up.

Francesca is so blinded by his Jets hate he has no perspective. Why Revis would appear on his show I have no idea.

Like the Jets or hate the Jets, revis is having possibly the greatest season ever by a defensive back. In 2009 opposing QBs had a 36.7 QB rating when throwing against Revis. The lowest rating by a cb in quite a long time. This year opposing QBs rating is 5. Yes 5. It is to bad the rest of the Jets are wasting such a great year by Revis

I used to listen to Francesa daily since 1990, he used to be the guy you’d love to talk football with over a beer. The last several years he’s turned into a pompous ass who talks down to his listeners, repeats himself to the point of being unlistenable and puffs him self up with all the name dropping. I stopped listening 2 years ago when I got XM NFL Radio, much more knowledgeable and likeable hosts.

Oh and by the way, Marshall was stumbling into Revis, not pass interference, good non-call.

I have been listening to Francessa for over 20 years now. I’m not a Jet fan but Francessa wanted Revis to admit that the pick 6 was interfearence on Revis which Revis did not admit but Francessa wouldn’t let it rest and Revis was getting mad. The Jet PR person then told Revis to hang up. I gotta side with Revis here. Francesssa would’t move on to another topic and just let it go.

Not a fan of either team. There was contact by both players. Wouldn’t have even been called on a soccer field. Francesa did a poor job in the interview. Unless his objective was to make himself the story.

If any good could come out of this stupid non-story, it would be that the refs get scrutinized more. Mrzazz explained why Revis is correct better than I could have. I agree with the non-call, but these refs are truly terrible this year. I remember a couple weeks back in Oakland, Muhammad Wilkerson was flagged for roughing the passer when he hardly touched him, and to make up for the bad call the refs decided to throw a bogus intentional grounding against Oakland! Some of these officials really stink.

Whether it was pass interference or not is not the point. Francesca is a horse’s ass and a Giants apologist, ever since Parcells annointed him an honorary member of the organization. Talks as if he’s been a ‘football guy’. Another member of the media trying to make himself the story. He hates the Jets and almost never talks about them on his show, because usually they won’t talk to him. He wasn’t joking with him, that’s just spin. He was trying to bait Revis into saying something stupid and wouldn’t let it go. Conversation was going nowhere and Jets PR were smart to cut it off, even though they could of done a better job of it. Pats fan by the way, no agenda here.

No way on pass interference by Revis. They call enough of them already. The best in the trade will get the benefit of doubt from the ref a lot. It has been this way for years. Great DB’s are usually close to the receiver and the ball.

Francesa is a smug jerk and the look on his face when Revis hung up was priceless. Then to follow that up he claims the ever horrible “I was just kidding” defense. I’m glad it happened and even better that it happened live on-air on his show.

The truth be told, Francesca is a pompous ass at times. Generally, he does know his stuff, though, even if he has to repeat himself a billion times. I have listened to him for twenty years and still do. He must have said Revis was the greatest defensive player in the NFL ten times. The dispute was over. Revis brought it back up by saying, out of the blue, he did not interfere with Brandon Marshall. The problem is with Revis and the Jets. They are victims of their headline-grabbing and can’t handle the heat when it comes back to burn them. How many apologies will this organization issue before it implodes? From Woody Johnson to the coaching staff to the taxi squad, they are a league wide joke.

For those that think it was a missed call… it happens every game… who cares.

For those that think it was a good call… who cares.

Over all, nobody cares about the call.

So I guess what is compelling about he story is that the Jets PR person pulled Revis from the interview. It wouldn’t even be a story otherwise. It would just be a good player talking to a moron and everyone would have forgotten about it.

Ok, you can’t call Francesa FAT or your post will be deleted. Here’s my gripe. The letter of the law says you can’t touch a receiver past 5 yards, however 95% of the time they do get touched past 5 yards. So, there is a gray area or an interpretation of what is too much contact. If you are watching on TV, you see about 10 or 12 plays of a particular DB. A DB like Revis, maybe he gets targeted 5 or 6 times. Then maybe the network shows good coverage by him once or twice when he is not targeted. Then if there is a penalty away from the play, MAYBE you see that too. That is a handful of plays. Revis sees what happens on 100% of his snaps. He knows what will be called and what won’t a lot better than some know it all blimp. So, while I agree that you don’t have to be a player to have an opinion, the DB knows what he can do and what he can’t. So, my question to you is — if you are a DB and you get away with something 15 times a game and never get flagged… is it a penalty?

As a now 30 something who has listened to Francessa for 20+ years, I think everyone is missing one main point.

Francessa can’t handle not closing a thought or receiving some sort of validation. I mean, he took a 30 second joke and ran it three minutes because Revis wouldn’t play sidekick to his bit. The weird thing to me on the video is that Francessa seems oblivious that he’s even doing that. It’s like he has a script in his head where Revis jokes “I got away with one,” and until he answers that way, he’ll keep pounding him.
It’s beyond egomaniacal with francessa!